NYメトロポリタン美術館の時の番人

2014 年 8 月 7 日 10:18 JST

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Associate curator Clare Vincent hands a key to a clock to technician Jacob Goble so he can wind it at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on July 25. Ms. Vincent has been at the Met since 1962 and until recently, she wound up to 15 clocks a week on her own, climbing stepladders to reach into the tallest ones.
Andrew Hinderaker for The Wall Street Journal…

Ms. Vincent instructs Mr. Goble as he winds a clock. 'It was probably a year before she gave me the keys for the first time,' says Mr. Goble. 'I haven't yet been given permission to wind them on my own.'
This particular clock, the Graves Tompion, is a Longcase clock, dated 'probably ca. 1675-78.'
Andrew Hinderaker for The Wall Street Journal…

A close-up of the Graves Tompion, a Longcase clock with calendrical, lunar, and tidal indications.
Andrew Hinderaker for The Wall Street Journal…

Ms. Vincent displays a key used to wind a clock.
'At the very beginning, I didn't do much at all. I would watch. She's not tall enough to lift the hood on the clock, so I would always do that, but that was the extent of it. She did the actual winding of the clock, the unlocking of the case. I wasn't allowed to touch the winding key. And then one day she gave me the keys and was like, "OK, here you go." It was like giving your teenager the keys to the car for the first time,' says Mr. Goble.
Andrew Hinderaker for The Wall Street Journal…

Ms. Vincent speaks with Mr. Goble, right, next to 'Celestial globe with clockwork,' left, by Gerhard Emmoser from 1579.
'I always ask Clare if the time is correct, and when I say that, a guard or a visitor might look at their iPhone and say, "it's two minutes fast" or "it's 5 minutes slow." And she'll say "it's correct by my watch,"' says Mr. Goble.
Andrew Hinderaker for The Wall Street Journal…

Ms. Vincent walks near a Longcase astronomical regulator by clockmaker Ferdinand Berthoud, dated ca. 1768-70.
Ms. Vincent sets her watch by the display on the Time Warner cable box beside her TV at home, and that's what she uses to set the clocks at the Met.
Andrew Hinderaker for The Wall Street Journal…

A Longcase astronomical regulator by clockmaker Ferdinand Berthoud, dated ca. 1768-70.
As far as the museum's collection, 'I think we have something in the nature of 100 clocks and 200 watches but that's a guess,' Ms. Vincent says.
Andrew Hinderaker for The Wall Street Journal…

A Longcase clock by clockmaker Hermann Achenbach, dated ca. 1774-75.
Says Mr. Goble, 'It takes 30 to 45 minutes to wind the clocks because I try to glean as much as I can from her. There's always some facet to the story, if not the clock itself, the life story of the man who made the clock or the one who built the case, or where their shops were in relation to one another in the town they were made.'
Andrew Hinderaker for The Wall Street Journal…

'Mantel Clock: The Triumph of Love Over Time' by clockmaker Jean-Baptiste Lepaute, dated ca. 1780-90
'In the past few months I've been actively taking notes and I'm compiling a how-to for winding the clocks in anticipation of her retirement,' says Mr. Goble. 'She initiated that herself a few months ago. She said, "it's time to start writing this stuff down."'
Andrew Hinderaker for The Wall Street Journal…